The present invention relates to a method and wrist-worn apparatus for monitoring states of consciousness, drowsiness, distress, and/or performance of a person, and particularly for the early detection of increasing drowsiness in a person in order to alert the person and possibly others in the near vicinity.
The state of increasing drowsiness is manifested by a number of plysiological changes. The device implemented by this invention utilizes autonomic and/or central nervous system electro-physiological monitoring and/or automatic reaction time testing, for detecting the onset of drowsiness.
Recent 1998 statistics issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation revealed that drowsy drivers are the cause of some 60,000 accidents resulting in 45,000 injuries and 15,000 fatalities. This invention is thus particularly useful in safety and security applications. Examples of users in such applications include vehicle drivers, pilots, flight controllers, night shift workers and the military. The invention is thus applicable whenever drowsiness is to be detected to prevent accidents and particularly distinguishes from traditional methods that analyze brain waves, eye movements, steering wheel movements and other means described in the published literature.
This invention may also be used as an adjunct to monitoring in a sleep laboratory or at home, to in depth anesthesia monitoring and to various diagnostic monitoring, particularly when a memory module is attached.